A Fire Inside

Chapter 9 Wendy

A/N: I promise the actual Student/Teacher relationship part of this story is coming soon guys. I'm just trying to find ways to keep this book interesting and different from my mother two Student/teacher series. Sorry its been so long. I've been in creative limbo with this book.  Hope this chapter makes up for the wait. I don't know how I feel about it. 

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I had lost track of time, looking out at the stars while Sera slept peacefully with her head on my chest. I understood why she enjoyed stargazing now, it was a nice way to just get lost for a while and not think about all the chaos going around you. For a while, she wasn't my student and I wasn't her teacher.

My phone vibrated in my jacket pocket, bringing me straight back to reality. Sera raised her head slowly and gave me a sleepy smile. I pulled my phone from my jacket pocket and looked down at the text.

Swan:
Where the hell are you two? You promised you would be back before the headcount tonight.

"Shit.." I mumbled.
"Whats wrong?" Sera asked with a yawn and then rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around.
"Oh.. fuck." She said and quickly got as far away from me as possible.
"I am so.. So very sorry Mr. Jones." She said and looked down at her hands.
"Don't be, you were tired..However Swan is quite upset that you've missed headcount so we best be heading back now." I said and scratched behind my ear nervously.
"We should have just gone back. I am so sorry if I got you in trouble." She said as she stood up.
"Its okay, as soon as I explain what happened with your mother, I'm certain all will be forgiven."
Sera frowned and walked to my car without another world, clearly upset by something now.

"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing." She mumbled and went to open the car door but I pushed it shut.
"Don't give me that shit." I said. She turned around and looked at me wide eyed. "I've learned enough about you tonight to know that something is wrong." I said.
"So..we are just going to throw that whole conversation about you keeping things professional we had earlier out the window?" She asked and raised an eyebrow.
"Just talk to me Stark." I sighed.
"People already know my dad is sick, telling them my mother called a priest to bless the house because of the evil I supposedly brought to it and to fix me... I just don't want people to take pity on me.." Sera said. 

"Emma will keep it between us. Don't worry about it." I said in an attempt to make her feel better. "You aren't going to get in trouble are you?" She asked.
"I honestly don't know, but I'm not too worried about it. I can deal with Gold, and Swan." I smirked and winked at her.
She bit her lip and batted her eyelashes at me and I knew I had to get in the car before things got out of hand.
"Get in the car, Stark." I chuckled and walked to the otherside of the car, breifly looking back to catch the look of disappointment on her face. In a different world, where I wasn't her teacher, she wouldn't have to be disappointed like that and I felt awful that she was in the first place. I knew since the day she walked in my classroom that she would be my biggest challenge yet. I just didn't know it would be like this. It was getting harder, and harder with each passing minute I spent with Seraphina Stark to not give in to these bloody feelings.

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When we got back to the school, Killian had parked his car in the garage and we both got out and we were heading up the front steps when we were met at the doors by Mr. Gold and Emma.
I swallowed thickly. This couldn't have been good. Emma looked apologetic, and Gold looked angry. I looked at Killian and he just shook his head at me and gave me a small smile before mouthing the words
"Its okay."
"Miss Stark, to your dorm. Jones..my office. Now." Gold snapped.
"But wait.. I can explain." I said.
"Just go Stark." Killian said.

I sighed and walked ahead of them, and looked over my shoulder at them all walking into Golds office. I knew I shouldn't have, but I slowly turned back around and crept to Gold's office and stood outside the door that was open just a crack.

"You have 10 seconds to save your job, Jones." Gold said.
"I heard Miss Mills and her friends laughing about Miss Stark, who had apparently been quite upset this morning after a phone call with her father. I understand that her father is terminally ill and I just wanted to take her to see her family. I Know its only been three days since her arrival. but the man doesn't have long." Killian explained. "Its just cruel that she has to be stuck here, wasting time that she could be spending with him."

I felt a dull ache in my chest. I knew my dad didn't have long but to hear someone else say it didn't help.

"I understand that her father is dying, but people with our abilities are under attack. Seraphina is exactly where she needs to be. We can make visits with her father more frequent for her case However you two have been gone since six this evening. It is now after midnight. Surely you didn't spend all of that time with her family." Gold said, accusingly.
"No, We didn't." Killian sighed "After spending time with her family, Miss Stark was incredibly distraught. I didn't want to bring her back to the school, Mills would have torn her apart and If you haven't noticed, When Stark is emotional, her powers flare up. I didn't think you'd appreciate the school going up in flames."

"What happened?" Emma asked. "With her family I mean." She clarified.
"Everything was fine, Her brother asked to see what is gifted can do, so I was demonstrating and her father asked if He could see her do it, and she was actually focusing and using her powers..and then her mother came home..with a priest."

I cringed. I hated that he had to tell Emma this, it was almost embarrassing how crazy my mother had become about this whole thing.

"You're kidding me.." Emma sighed.
"Afraid not." Killian mumbled. "Apparently, she had confided in the priest about what she referred to as Sera's problems and he offered to cleanse the house. Which you could imagine was upsetting to Sera."
"That poor kid." Emma groaned and I heard her sit down.
"It doesn't end there..The priest also offered to rid Sera of the evil dwelling inside of her. Does this ring a bell to either of you?" Killian asked.
"Wendy.." Gold sighed heavily.
"I got Sera out of there as quickly as I could, but I am worried about her mother, father and brother if this has anything to do with what happened to Miss Darling."

Who was this Wendy? And what were they talking about? Were my parents and Gabe in immediate danger? I tried to get closer to the door but it was suddenly shut and I could no longer hear anything they were talking about. I grumbled to myself and slowly made my way to my dorm. I would have to ask around about this Wendy later.

When I got to the dorm, Regina was asleep thankfully. I climbed into bed and scrolled through my phone. My mind was racing, I had no idea how I was going to sleep. As I was scrolling, I noticed a new email notification, from Killian.

Rest assured, I will still be here bright and early to teach you History of Magic.

I smiled and quickly typed back a message

Good. :)

You are quite possibly the only student in this school that would be happy about that. I've been told I'm an ass. ;)

I can't imagine who would ever call you that. ;)

Go to bed Stark... 7AM comes early. I look forward to you actually sitting through a whole class.

I thought about asking him who Wendy was but when they were talking about her in Golds office, he seemed upset about whatever had happened to her and he never mentioned her after we left my parents house so he likely didn't want to talk about it.

I look forward to learning all about Merlin and what not. Good night Jones.

I sighed and held my phone against my chest. Why did the one person I had such a strong connection with, and such strong feelings for already, have to be so incredibly out of reach?

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Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing was stopping me from attending every single one of my classes today. Most importantly Killian's, History, I could understand, even History of Magic. This would be at least one class here that I would excel in. Of course, I had more motivation to learn everything I could about my abilities now, One, I wanted to figure out how to heal my father's cancer, and two it would piss my mother off, and after last night I just wanted to shove as much magic mumbo jumbo down her throat as I could.

I made it to Killian's class, on time and took my spot next to Regina.
"Why are you even here?" She asked me.
"Why do you care?" I asked.
"I don't." She scoffed. "We'll see if you even make it through class without setting something on fire, or passing out."
"Mills, Stark, quiet please." Killian said as he took his spot at the front of the classroom. I turned my attention to him, Where it stayed as he droned on and on about some person who did something with magic, the only think I found myself able to focus on was the way he moved around the classroom, and the way his mouth moved when he spoke, I really enjoyed the way his tongue would poke out every now and then as he wrote something down on his chalkboard.

Sera for God sake focus will you??

Killian was erasing the chalkboard and I looked around everyone had notes that they had written down. I looked down at my blank notebook.

Well..fuck.

"I expect your work on my desk tomorrow morning, the answers are all in your book so you'll need to read chapter 6 sections 1-5." Killian said. "Also be working on your reports for the end of semester. Miss Stark, see me after class and I'll give you a topic to do your report on. Remember reports are due in two weeks absolutely no excuses." Killian said firmly looking around as there was a general groan of disappointment from everyone in the room. He rolled his eyes and shook his head as the bell rang.

Did I really just sit here for an hour and not learn a damn thing?

Everyone began getting up and leaving the class. I slowly put my books in my bag and waited for everyone to be gone before I walked up to Killian's desk where he sat looking through his computer.
"Whatcha doing?" I asked.
"Emailing you a copy of the homework questions I was writing on the board because you didn't write anything down." He smirked.
"Sorry.. My brain was just elsewhere today." I mumbled.
"Where was it if I may ask?"
No.. you may not.
"Just.. stuff." I shrugged.
"Stuff.. Alright then." He said and slid a paper across his desk at me. "This is a list of available topics for your report. You know.. For when your brain gets done with...stuff." He winked.
What game are you playing Jones?
I took the paper from him and looked down at it.
"You don't have to choose now, just email me and let me know which one you choose." I looked up at him and there was just something about his blue eyes that was lighting my skin on fire. I had to get away from this man before I did something, I likely wouldn't regret but he would. Maybe?
Don't even entertain the idea of it Sera.
"Got it." I nodded and started walking away.
"Oh, Wait!" Killian said.
I turned around.
"Yeah?"
Killian opened his desk and tossed me a bag of skittles.
"I recall that was your last condition, in terms of you forgiving me for the other night." He said and smiled. I laughed.
"Consider yourself forgiven." I smirked and waved the bag of skittles at him before turning to leave.

Once outside the door, I leaned against it and sighed heavily. How was I supposed to survive his class if just looking at the man, set a fire raging deep inside of me? I took a few deep breaths pushing back the fever that was starting to kick in before I pushed myself off the door and hurried along to my next class.

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